Ubuntu 8.04 Causes Problems With VMWare Tools, Open Source to the Rescue

It turns out that some changes to the Linux kernel — Ubuntu 8.04 uses Linux 2.6.24 — have introduced some issues that make running Ubuntu in a VMWare virtual machine difficult. Ubuntu will install just fine, but you won't have access to VMWare Tools, which provides some nice features like shared folders and clipboard syncing.

The quick fix highlights one of the advantages of open source — faster development turnaround. This isn't the first time VMWare Tools have broken with the release of a new Linux kernel and it's quickly becoming apparent that the community is faster at finding solutions than VMWare itself.